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Publisher's Summary

One of the original novels of post-nuclear holocaust America, The Long Tomorrow is considered by many to be one of the finest science fiction novels ever written on the subject. The story has inspired generations of new writers and is still as mesmerizing today as when it was originally written.

Len and Esau are young cousins living decades after a nuclear war has destroyed civilization as we know. The rulers of the post-war community have forbidden the existence of large towns and consider technology evil.

However Len and Esau long for more than their simple agrarian existence. Rumors of mythical Bartorstown, perhaps the last city in existence, encourage the boys to embark on a journey of discovery and adventure that will call into question not only firmly held beliefs, but the boys’ own personal convictions.

this is a little in the same vein as On the Beach, Alas Babylon, Earth Abides, and Canticle for Leibowitz. the society after the destruction is well thought out and plausible with some over zealous religious preachers and bans against letting cities and technology resurface and cause it all again. I liked it though it is not fast paced. I kept thinking of Canticle due to the religion and reading aspects. overall very good and not so long that you have to invest too much time if it's not quite what you want.

Yes, not least because it demonstrates how *relevant* science fiction could be even in the 1950s when it had yet to be considered respectable.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The protagonist, Len. He's a very credible character, an ordinary youth growing up in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. He does foolish things and he does smart things, just like a real person, and he grows as a character - something that didn't happen so much in SF at that time.<br/>Hostetter is a good character too, a man of integrity burdened by knowledge.<br/>Esau - well, I wouldn't like him if I met him in real life, but he's well portrayed here.<br/>There aren't many strong female characters, despite the author being female, but I did like the grandmother.

What does Ben Rameka bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His character voices, especially for Hostetter.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really a moment, but there was an overall sense of "these people have to live with the consequences of a horror that was all too possible at the time" about the story. There were also a fair few little character moments that were so spot-on that they made me smile.

Any additional comments?

The middle section of the book is less engaging than the rest of the book, as we're suddenly dealing with a new set of characters and a shift in narrative pace that means we're not introduced to them as well as we could have been.<br/>Brackett was wise not to include mutants with extra heads or psionic powers. Surprisingly, though, I don't remember a single mention of birth defects, or fear of them, even though one character becomes pregnant.<br/>All in all, this is a very insightful book, one of the most significant early speculations about the outcome of a nuclear war (along with Walter M. Miller's A Canticle for Leibowitz). It's not as exciting as Brackett's planetary romances such as The Sword of Rhiannon, but it is ultimately more rewarding.

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